Eater Digest - Men's Basketball - November 2022

STORYLINES

CONFERENCE DOMINATION

Since 2012, the Anteaters have compiled a 138-47 record (0.746) record in conference play which is one of the best according to CBK Report. On the list of 25, Kansas and Virginia are the only two power five institutions that sit above UC Irvine. UCI ranks the highest out of the California teams that made the list, sitting above San Diego State and St. Mary’s College.

DEFEND THE BREN

In the Turner era of Anteater basketball, UC Irvine holds a 131-42 (0.757) record inside the Bren Events Center with only one loss on their home court in each of the last two seasons. In similar fashion to their overall conference domination over the last decade, the ‘Eaters have gone 64-12 (0.842) in Big West play on their home court.

CHAMPIONSHIP MENTALITY

In a ten year span, UC Irvine has won seven Big West championships whether it was a regular season or championship title. The Anteaters have won the Big West outright in 2013-14, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2018-19, 2019-20 seasons while earning Big West championship titles in 2014-15 and 2018-19. UCI has made six postseason appearances under the helm of Russell Turner with their last appearance in postseason play in 2019, playing in the NCAA tournament where the Anteaters advanced to the second round.

ALL ABOUT THE NET

The UC Irvine non-conference slate is difficult given the ‘Eater’s reputation, but was crafted strategically to help become a potential postseason favorite. The non-conference

schedule comprises of teams out of Power 5 conferences like the Pac-12 while also competing against powerhouses in the Ivy League, Mountain West, Southland, Summit League, Western Athletic, and West Coast conferences.

“We know we have the chance to be good. We know we can be good. I am super excited to see what this team can do so it should be fun.”

YOUNG AND HUNGRY

While the Anteaters boast a young squad, the 2022-23 season marks the third year in a row where there are no guys on the team who are playing through their last year of eligibility. Coach Turner prides himself on the fact that the whole outside perimeter returns this year.

“It is every coach’s dream to get old and stay old. It is a good feeling knowing that there is no one on this team exhausting their eligibility.”

FRONT COURT DIFFERENCES

With some changes to the UCI roster, there will be some different faces leading the Anteaters in the front court.

Dean Keeler will return for his senior season. Keeler will be looked at to have an increased roll this year as one of the senior members of the team. Having dealt with injuries over the last few seasons, Dean should have a special year.

A sophomore out of Germany, Bent Leuchten had his first true offseason where he underwent a physical transformation. Playing at a high level before in his home

season preview

country, Leuchten got playing experience at the collegiate level during his freshman campaign to prepare for increased time on the floor.

Chazz Hutchison, a new face on the Anteater roster, is a local player who will bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm to this 2022-23 squad. Despite coming late to the game, Hutchison has terrific basketball genetics that helps keep his and his team’s intensity up.

BREAKOUT SUPPORTING ROLES

On a stacked UC Irvine roster, Coach Turner is looking forward seeing Devin Tillis, Ofure Ujadughele, Andre Henry, and Langston Redfield having breakout seasons.

Tillis, a transfer from UNLV after his freshman campaign, sat out last season after a season ending surgery. A talented three point shooter, Devin has a lot to prove after missing the past year.

“It is unquestionable that Devin Tillis is going to be an impact guy. He reminds me a lot of Michael Wilder…a difference maker in establishing the program.”

Ofure is a big energy player for the ‘Eater’s. Ujadughele played in every game last season and every time he went in he was able to raise the energy on the court.

“Ofure is an emotional presence I can rely on day after day, night after night. I am truly excited about him and the contributions he has made and will continue to make.”

“Andre hasn’t shown everyone the skill that he has and I would be shocked if he didn’t have a breakout this season. Langston can get it done on the perimeter while also keeping his composure in high pressure situations.”

NEW ERA

In addition to Hutchison, Turner added four more new faces to the 2022-23 roster.

Pierre Crockrell II, a senior transfer from Pacific, comes to Irvine as a proven player. In his three seasons with the Tiger’s, Crockrell II led the team and was among the top of the West Coast Conference in assists.

Three years after announcing his commitment to the Anteater program, Hayden Welling has arrived in Irvine for his freshman campaign. The Utah product won his high school’s state championship title in 2019 and was the runner up the previous season.

Emilis Butkus and Eli Chol round out the 16-man roster for UC Irvine. Chol hails from Cumming, Georgia while Butkus has traveled from Lithuania to compete at the collegiate level.

“I am super excited about these guys. I think they’re hungry and they’re motivated. We have a lot to prove.”

UC Irvine begins its 2022-23 schedule Thursday night, hosting DII Alaska Anchorage in an exhibition game at the Bren Events Center at 7:00 p.m. Trent Rush will be on the call for KUCI and ESPN+.Before the season commences, head coach Russell Turner wants to give insight on what he is most looking forward to in this 2022-23 campaign.

Both Henry and Redfield have garnered added experience over the last year in order to support the momentum on the floor.

Russell Turner, the winningest coach in UCI history, concluded his 12th season at the helm in 2021-22. Turner has guided the Anteaters to 242 wins, averaging over 20 wins a season.

Turner who enters his 13th season as head coach at UC Irvine in 2022-23, has led the ‘Eaters to six postseason appearances (2013 CIT, 2014 NIT, 2015 NCAA, 2016 CIT, 2017 NIT and 2019 NCAA).

Turner became the only coach in UCI history to amass 200 wins. He has been named the Big West Coach of the Year four times in his career and has led the ‘Eaters to Big

West regular season titles in five of the last eight seasons.

On the national stage, Turner has been named a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award in 2017 & 2020, and the Hugh Durham Award in 2019 & 2020. Bracketbusters.com also named him one of the Top-10 Big West Coaches of the Century.

UCI’s 2020-21 team was the second youngest in the country, and Turner led the Anteaters to a Big West Tournament final for the fourth-consecutive season. He is one of only seven coaches in Big West history to reach over 200 wins and currently ranks fifth all-time on the Big West career wins list.

In 2019-20, Turner led the Anteaters to their second-straight Big West regular sea son outright title, marking the first time in UCI history the ‘Eaters won back-to-back outright titles. UCI entered the Big West Tournament as the No. 1 seed before its cancelation.

He led UCI to a record-breaking 2018-19 season as the Anteaters broke school records in overall wins (31), longest winning streak (17 games) and tied a program best 15-1 mark in Big West play. Turner guided the Anteaters to their second Big West Conference Tournament title and second NCAA Tournament appearance. UCI won its first-ever NCAA Tournament game defeating fourth-seeded Kansas State 70-64. He also helped Jonathan Galloway become the Big West’s first-ever three time Defensive Player of the Year recipient. Turner was named the Big West Coach of the Year.

In 2017-18, he guided the Anteaters to their sixth-straight winning season with an 18-17 overall record and second-straight Big West Tournament final. He upped his career win total to 157 becoming the third coach in UC Irvine history to eclipse 150 wins in a career.

He was named Big West Conference Coach of the Year in 2017 after lead ing the Anteaters to their third regular-season league title in the last four years.

In 2016, Turner led UCI to a 28-10 record, which at the time, set school records for overall victories, non-conference wins (15), and road victories (13).

In 2015, he led UCI to the program’s first NCAA Division I Tournament berth as the Anteaters won the Big West Conference Tournament for the first time in school history. UCI took three-time national champion Louisville to the wire in the NCAA Second round, falling 57-55.

Turner was named 2014 Big West Conference Coach of the Year and NABC District 9 Coach of the Year after leading the Anteaters to their first league regular-season title in 12 years and a second consecutive 20-win season.

He guided the ‘Eaters to a 23-12 overall record in 2013-14 and a 13-3 mark in Big West play. Five of his players received Big West postseason recognition.

Turner was named UC Irvine’s head coach April 9, 2010, after serving the previous six seasons as an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association following positions at Stanford University and Wake Forest University.

Turner also served as a coach for the Warriors’ summer-league entry in Las Vegas for five seasons. He has been an active participant in the NBA’s international outreach camps, including Basketball without Borders, representing the league in Turkey, China and Lithuania. BWB is a program that uses basketball to create positive social change in education, health and wellness.

tournament each of Turner’s four years, including the West Regional final in 2001.

The list of players he worked with at Stanford includes All-Americans Josh Childress, Casey Jacobsen, Jarron Collins and Jason Collins.

Prior to Stanford, Turned worked under Dave Odom as an assistant at Wake Forest University from 1994-2000.

The Demon Deacons won 161 games in those six seasons, advancing to the NCAA tournament three times, including the Midwest Regional final in 1996. Tim Duncan was a three-time All-American during Turner’s tenure at Wake Forest.

Turner’s first coaching position was as an assistant at his alma mater, Hampden-Sydney (Va.) College in 1993-94.

As a player at Hampden-Sydney, Turner was a two-time All-American (1991 & 1992) and set the school’s career scoring record of 2,272 points. He was a member of Hampden-Sydney’s first two NCAA tournament teams and was inducted into Hampden-Sydney’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002.

He graduated magna cum laude in 1992 with a B.A. in English and economics, and earned numerous academic honors including election into Phi Beta Kappa.

Turner is a native of Roanoke, Va. He and his wife, Elizabeth, a physician, have two children, Devlin and Darius.

Turner was a member of Mike Montgomery’s Stanford University staff from 2000-04 when the Cardinal had a combined overall record of 105-24 (.814), including 59-13 (.819) in Pac-10 play. Stanford won Pac-10 regular-season titles in 2001 and 2004, was ranked No. 1 in the polls both seasons, and advanced to the NCAA

NO. NAME POS HT./WT. YR. HOMETOWN/PREVIOUS SCHOOL

0 JC Butler G/F 6-5/195 R-Sr. Racine, Wisc./The Prairie School

1 Dawson Baker G 6-4/190 Jr. Coto de Caza, Calif./Capistrano Valley HS

2 Justin Hohn G 6-2/85 R-Jr. Sioux Falls, S.D./Tea HS

3 Pierre Crockrell II G 6-0/180 Sr. Tacoma, Wash./Prolific Prep HS (Pacific)

4 Andre Henry G 6-4/180 Jr. La Cañada-Flintridge, Calif./St. Francis HS

5 Chazz Hutchison F 6-9/215 Jr. Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo HS

10 Ofure Ujadughele G 6-5/210 R-Jr. Chino Hills, Calif./Chino Hills HS

11 Devin Tillis F 6-6/210 R-So. Los Angeles, Calif./Winward HS (UNLV)

13 Hayden Welling F 6-8/210 Fr. Draper, Utah/Corner Canyon HS

15 Bent Leuchten C 7-0/258 So. Karlsfeld, Germany/Josef-Effner-Gynasium

21 Langston Redfield G 6-3/185 So. Mission Viejo, Calif./Capistrano Valley HS

22 DJ Davis G 6-1/170 Jr. Moreno Valley, Calif./Riverside Poly HS

23 Emilis Butkus G/F 6-5/215 Fr. Vilnuis, Lithuania/Internationale Basketball Akademie Muechen

31 Dean Keeler F 6-11/240 Sr. Westminster, Calif./Marina HS

33 Eli Chol F/C 6-11/175 Fr. Cumming, Ga./Forsyth Central HS

43 Akiva McBirney-Griffin F 6-9/220 R-Fr. Hamilton, New Zealand/St. John’s College

1 BAKER, Dawson 19-19 510:06 26.8 77-184 .418 19-56 .339 40-51

22 DAVIS, DJ 24-2 519:12 21.6 64-166 .386 36-90 .400 47-52 .904 8 31 39 1.6

3 13 213

211 8.8

2 HOHN, Justin 25-18 565:36 22.6 78-168 .464 25-68 .368 17-21 .810 12 61 73 2.9 38 0 50 41 4 25 198 7.9

00 BUTLER, JC 25-25 549:22 22.0 59-125 .472 11-34 .324 25-35 .714 13 50 63 2.5 45 0 26 29 0 15 154 6.2

13 JOHNSON, Austin 25-25 532:32 21.3 58-115 .504 0-0 .000 29-36 .806 41 109 150 6.0 64 2 5 27 61 5 145 5.8

25 TSHIMANGA, Emmanuel 25-0 270:50 10.8 35-55 .636 0-1 .000 16-25 .640 32 51 83 3.3 53 1 5 19 3 3 86 3.4

5 LEE, Isaiah 25-11 452:09 18.1 26-76 .342 16-50 .320 16-21 .762 8 29 37 1.5 34 0 30 31 3 17 84 3.4

15 LEUCHTEN, Bent 24-0 166:50 7.0 30-54 .556 1-3 .333 18-31 .581 22 21 43 1.8 22 0 7 15 4 3 79 3.3

4 HENRY, Andre 14-0 120:52 8.6 8-25 .320 1-9 .111 14-20 .700 1 18 19 1.4 8 0 6 7 1 5 31 2.2

10 UJADUGHELE, Ofure 25-0 305:45 12.2 20-50 .400 1-10 .100 8-20 .400 27 44 71 2.8 45 1 25 25 0 19 49 2.0

31 KEELER, Dean 13-0 94:01 7.2 11-23 .478 0-0 .000 3-4 .750 9 18 27 2.1 17 1 4 7 3 3 25 1.9

11 RUCK, Hunter 5-0 26:52 5.4 4-7 .571 0-0 .000 1-1 1.000 2 5 7 1.4 4 0 0 0 0 1 9 1.8

21 REDFIELD, Langston 22-0 195:57 8.9 11-27 .407 3-9 .333 1-2 .500 5 12 17 0.8 9 0 12 9 0 6 26 1.2

Team 26 45 71 13

Total 25 5000 609-1377 .442 126-388 .325 312-408 .765 252 656 908 36.3 450 6 273 338 89 150 1656 66.2

Opponents 25 5000 543-1392 .390 117-447 .262 304-419 .726 242 563 805 32.2 407 3 261 293 65 154 1507 60.3

Team Statistics

Team Results

IRVINE OPP

Scoring 1656 1507

Points per game 66.2 60.3

Scoring margin +6.0

Field goals-att 609-1377 543-1392

Field goal pct .442 .390 3 point fg-att 126-388 117-447 3-point FG pct .325 .262 3-pt FG made per game 5.0 4.7

Free throws-att 312-408 304-419 Free throw pct .765 .726

F-Throws made per game 12.5 12.2

Rebounds 908 805 Rebounds per game 36.3 32.2 Rebounding margin +4.1 Assists 273 261 Assists per game 10.9 10.4

Turnovers 338 293 Turnovers per game 13.5 11.7

Date Opponent Score Att. 11/09/2021 at New Mexico St. L 51-62 5056 11/13/2021 Boise St. W 58-50 2197 11/16/2021 La Verne W 100-41 987 11/20/2021 Pepperdine W 82-48 1641 11/27/2021 at Santa Clara W 69-64 834

12/03/2021 Bethesda (CA) W 86-54 866 12/11/2021 at Fresno St. L 55-63 4501

12/15/2021 at Southern California L 61-66 3253

12/19/2021 vs Duquesne L 54-76 211

01/08/2022 at UC Riverside W 68-51 0 01/13/2022 at Hawaii L 56-72 3245

01/20/2022 Cal St. Fullerton L 63-65 931

01/22/2022 at Long Beach St. L 67-73 982

01/27/2022 CSU Bakersfield W 57-52 790

01/29/2022 Cal Poly W 72-48 1532

02/03/2022 at UC Santa Barbara W 53-52 999

02/05/2022 at CSUN W 75-70 300

02/10/2022 UC Riverside W 66-56 1364

02/15/2022 at UC San Diego W 56-50 1753

02/19/2022 Hawaii W 77-52 1529

02/24/2022 at Cal St. Fullerton L 64-66 1013

02/26/2022 Long Beach St. W 77-72 2480 03/03/2022 at Cal Poly L 54-65 1868

03/05/2022 at CSU Bakersfield W 66-61 1323

03/10/2022 vs UC Santa Barbara L 69-78 0

COACHING STAFF

Head Coach: Russell Turner (13th Season)

Assistant Coaches: Ryan Badrtalei, Michael Wilder, Alex Young

Director of Recruiting: Ali Ton

Director of Administration: Sean O’Donnell